Why does web development take so long?

We get this question a lot. And we can see this from the client’s perspective as well. Why do seemingly simple tasks seem to take such a long time? It’s a valid question that we’re going to try and answer it here!

The hidden factor

With many issues there is a “hidden factor” to solving these un-obviously complicated problems. This “hidden factor” is what makes a difficult issue seem simple when you don’t know the technical intricacies behind it.

An example of this is adding responsive content to a page. It may seem like a simple task, add the content, tell it how big to display on each screen size, no problem. The “hidden factors” here are that while the physical screen size is the same, different software and screen resolutions can display the same content slightly differently. Not to mention having to display the same content differently for multiple different break points, which can mean redesigning the same page several times.

Trial and error

After that comes the testing and troubleshooting phase. We test on multiple devices, browsers, software, hardware etc. to ensure content always displays correctly. This process is the most time consuming and can cause simple tasks to blow out if not managed efficiently. It can come down to one setting or line of code causing a visual bug in one content area which may take several hours to pinpoint and rectify.

So while things may appear simple and straightforward, there are many factors that can cause even the simplest of tasks to “take ages”.